


In the Flicker of a Candle

by Dragonlies



Category: Original Work
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Is it magic?, Not Beta Read, is it religion?, who knows - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:08:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23640574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonlies/pseuds/Dragonlies
Summary: It was well known that those who reject the gifts the Gods give them are punished. It was well known that the Marsik family was full of filthy sinners.or, Joanna Marsik turns eighteen





	In the Flicker of a Candle

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in three hours. 
> 
> Warnings: Blood, non-explicit death, and some stuff that can be taken as mind control/manipulation

It was well known that those who reject the gifts the Gods give them are punished. It was well known that the Marsik family was full of filthy sinners.

In any normal town this might result in them being driven out or even killed to keep the Gods from turning their ire towards others. But this was Spindale. And in Spindale money made the rules. There were plenty of corruptible people in high places that didn’t care about sinners in the city as long as their pockets were well-lined.

It was a system that the Marsiks benefited from and relied on. It was a system that kept them alive. 

It was also a system that ensured Joanna Marsik was homeschooled. This in of itself was no travesty, were she to attend a school with other children there was no doubt in her mind that she would despise it. No, the curse of being homeschooled was that her parents knew exactly how much work she had, and there was no using it as an excuse when she didn’t want to do something. Though Joanna wasn’t sure she would have used it anyway, she tended to be too scared to lie. Still, having the option would have been nice.

It was that thought that plagued her as her brother knocked on her bedroom door. Rather polite of him,

“I’m naked,” she called towards the door,

“No you’re not,” 

“Fine, I’m doing homework,”

“While naked? Didn’t know you were into that.” She stuck her tongue out despite the fact that he couldn’t see her,

“Intellectual pursuits are very attractive. Maybe you’d pick up more girls if you tried it some time.” There was a pause and she knew he wouldn’t let her get away with joking any longer.

“You need to come down, we’re doing family stuff.” Joanna looked at the clock on her wall, then at the unopened book on her desk.

“What if I don’t think I’m ready?” she cursed the tremor in her voice,

“No one ever is,”

“Not even you?”

“Are you kidding me? I practically cried when Isabel came to get me, that’s why we do it as a family,”

“Promise?”

“I promised, come down Joanna. Mom made cookies for once we’re done.” She let her bare feet slip from under the covers and pad across the floor to her desk. She picked up the book, more of a tome, and opened the door to her brother.

Theodore Marsik was not an attractive young man. His nose was crooked from an accident when he was young and his hair had the perpetual look of having just been ironed. To listen to their Grandmother talk he was the spitting image of her uncle. No one cared enough to go find the painting in the attic to check and it wouldn’t have been any comfort to Theodore if they did. 

Irregardless, his smile had a calming effect on Joanna, though she’d never admit that to anyone. “Come on, everyone’s waiting,” he remained close to her side as they walked down the stairs, not touching, but close enough that she could feel the warmth of his skin. “You made a nice choice with the dress.” Joanna looked down at her outfit, a short red dress and black leggings. 

“Aunt Elvira recommended it, I think the dress was Helen’s before she went to college,”

“It suits you,” he said. 

“I prefer purple,”

“I know, but red _is_ traditional,” he stopped her before they could get within earshot of the living room, he held out a closed fist, “Here.” he opened his fist to reveal a necklace. A piece of black tourmaline latticed with a string, hung on a leather cord. He reached over her head to place it around her neck. She took in her hand and whispered a prayer in her mind before nodding and turning towards the living room. 

Theodore followed behind her like a watchful dog as she entered the room. It was a fairly private event, as far as the Marsik family went. Only her mother, Grandmother, Aunt Elvira, Isabel, and Theodore were there. Isabel lounged across the couch like she was the bell of some medieval ball. Aunt Elvira sat next to her and looked like she’d just finished giving her daughter a lecture in propriety. Her Grandmother was struggling to stay awake in her rocking chair, a noble effort from a woman who went to bed at six. Her mother stood in the middle of the room, a book similar to the one Joanna held opened in her hands. She turned at their entrance and smiled softly at Joanna. 

“Are you ready Joanna?”

“I think so,” Joanna hated the way her mother could see through any walls she put forth.

“There’s no need to be scared darling, the Gods will guide our actions tonight.” Joanna nodded, though she couldn’t help the dubious look to the small shrine and the offering before it. She swallowed,

“Yeah, I’m ready.” Her mother smiled again and turned back to her book. She began the prayer, barely needing to look at the words written on the page, she’d read them so many times. Isabel perked up at the foreign language and joined in with a piercing high note, held long. Aunt Elvira joined her, allowing both of them to breath without breaking the tone. Her grandmother awakened with a silent start, casting a look to Theodore behind her. 

Joanna felt more than saw Theodore nod. He joined into their mother’s prayer, moving up to stand next to her so he could look into the book. Their grandmother opened her mouth and spoke.

“We welcome the Gods into our house tonight, to witness the birth of a new woman. Under your eyes she steps out of girlhood and into the fold.” Joanna stepped towards the altar, her bare feet slid across the floor. She kept her eyes focussed on the altar, she knew that if she looked elsewhere she’d be sick. 

She stepped before the altar. The offering began to stir, she needed to finish this. She glanced towards the table to her right and picked up the knife. “In your names I make this sacrifice. In the name of Triumph, Shadows, and Death I end this life, so that I might become worthy of worshiping you.” Joanna slit the throat of the sacrifice. His barely conscious eyes met hers as his life blood splattered her face and dress. _Red is traditional_. She placed the knife on the altar and watched the blood drip onto the floor.

The candles flickered before going out. Her family continued the prayer and the shadows almost seemed to take on a physical form as they wrapped around Joanna. They slipped in between her fingers, providing her an almost unnatural comfort. A little bit of them slipped into her, sinking in through her skin. Joanna could feel the blood of her sacrifice touch against her feet and she reveled in it. This was what she was meant to be.

“ _You have done well, my little one._ ” a voice whispered into her ear,

“Who are you?” she wasn’t sure she needed to ask,

“ _I am known to mortals as Nysin_."

“What are you?”

“ _I am your god, and you are my faithful worshiper, born to deliver pain to those who would act against us_.”

“Us?”

“ _Yes_ **_us_ ** _, you will be my shepherd, raised to herd the sheep_.” the voice laughed slightly, Joanna felt a smile creep across her face. Her family continued praying, oblivious to her talking.

“Are they alright?” she tried to look back before the shadows grasped her head and focused her back on her beautiful sacrifice.

“ _They can’t hear you, but the darkness is usual for this ceremony_.”

“So you do this often, then?”

“ _To a lesser extent with the others. Most don’t get the honor of speaking with me. You are a special find, Joanna Marsik_.” The blood continued to seep between her toes and she frowned,

“I need to finished the ritual,”

“ _I’ll guide you through the rest_ .” She knelt in the blood and was suddenly and a little bit irrationally glad that she’d followed her Aunt’s recommendation in wearing the dark colors. She dipped her finger into the blood on the floor and brought it to her lips. The shadows fluttered around her and she gathered they were happy. The iron taste filled her mouth and she felt the blood begin to _shift_.

“ ** _Yes_ ** _Joanna, that’s it_ .” As the blood shifted it began to lose its slickness until she could feel fur brushing against her side. “ _Your present_.” 

The shadows flickered before disappearing as light returned to the room. Her family had stopped the prayer, she could feel them watching her. Joanna held out her hand to the creature in front of her. It sniffed at her finger and the remnants of blood still on it. It licked her finger and began purring. She registered in the back of her mind that it was a cat, but that seemed less important than the fact that Nysin had gifted it to her.

“Rise Joanna Marsik, as a full woman,” her grandmother said behind her. Joanna held out her arms to the cat and scooped it up. The creature made a low disgruntled noise at the treatment but didn’t use its claws. She stood and turned. 

Isabel was watching with interest, her shrew peeking out of her scarf. Theodore’s dog peered around the doorframe. Aunt Elvira’s chameleon shifted from blending in with her hair to a bright red. Her grandmother’s racoon chittered from its place on the back of her rocking chair. Her mother smiled and her snake uncoiled slightly from her neck to flick it’s tongue.

“A wonderful summon Joanna,” her mother said, “what are you going to name it?” Joanna looked down at the shadow she cast in the candlelight and listened to what it told her. 

The cat twisted in her arms and batted at her necklace. Joanna looked back up to her mother, “Shepherd." 

**Author's Note:**

> So... that happened. Y'know originally the big plot twist was going to be that everyone has 'gifts from gods' and the Marsiks don't but pretend they do. I got about three paragraphs into that before this happened. 
> 
> Fun fact: I didn't realize until the very end but Isabel, Theodore, and Joanna all have names related to god. It felt fitting so I left it.


End file.
